Comparison Aiko BERKUT-150 EL vs Valberg FRS-49 KL

The product type determines the main purpose and some design features of the safe.

— Home/office. Freestanding general purpose safes; the office variety is somewhat larger than the home variant, but otherwise their features are identical, so both types are combined into one. These are rather simple products with relatively low burglary resistance and without fireproof, not intended for storing weapons and not designed for carrying (for more details, see the relevant subparagraphs below). They are designed primarily to protect information of a low rate of privacy — for example, commercial documents "for official use".

— Embedded. This category includes all models of safes designed for installation into a wall — in such a way that only the front door is outside. If the safe meets this criterion, it is classified as embedded, regardless of the burglary protection rate and/or fire resistance. The advantage of such safes is the minimum space occupied; in addition, a wall safe is easy to disguise, for example, under a picture. On the other hand, the embedding process itself is quite troublesome, and moving the safe to another place can be a serious problem. And the burglary resistance of such models is usually not very high — in fact, it is directly related to the specs of the wall material the safe is installed into.

— Burglary. General-purpose...safes that do not have any of the specializations described below and at the same time correspond to a burglary resistance class (see the relevant paragraph) of at least I.

— Fireproof. General purpose safes that are not applicable to the types described below and have a fire rating (see “Fire Rating”) of 30B or higher. It should be noted that the main purpose of such safes is not to provide security, but to protect the contents in case of fire: even the simplest fire-resistant safe will be able to protect the documents placed in it to a certain extent, but the reliability of the locks and the burglary resistance of such models is very limited.

— Fire and burglary resistant. Models that combine the properties of the two "resistant" types described above: general purpose, burglary resistance of at least level I and fireproof rating of at least 30B.

— Gun safe. A specialized type of safe designed to store firearms and ammunition. Such models may have devices for the convenience of placing guns, as well as additional compartments for ammunition (see "Ammo compartment"). Another characteristic feature of gun safes is the possibility of fastening (see below) — this requirement is often found in the legislation of different countries. Note that the presence of such a gun safe may be one of the conditions for issuing a weapon permit, and the specific requirements for a gun safe in such cases are also specified in the law. Therefore, before buying such a model, it is worth checking its compliance with local requirements.

— Deposit. A specific type of safe used in retail outlets, exchange offices and other places where you constantly have to deal with a large amount of cash. The main feature of such safes is the presence of an additional (cash) compartment above the main one. Such a compartment opens freely, without a key or other similar restriction, and when it is closed, all contents placed inside (money, securities, etc.) automatically move to the lower, protected compartment. Thus, it is possible to replenish the contents of the main compartment without access to it. The burglary resistance of such safes is relatively low, since they are always under supervision. It is also worth noting that the presence of a slot for money (on top or on the door) also makes the safe deposit one.

— Portable/car. Two types of safes combined into one according to the criteria of small size and portability. Moreover, each option has its own specs. So, portable ones are often equipped with a handle for easy transportation in the hands, and automobile ones are designed with the expectation of specific installation locations: under the front seat for the role of the second “glove box”, under the folding segment of the rear seat, in the spare wheel in the boot, etc. Both subtypes have the ability to mount (see below) — otherwise there is a high risk of stealing the contents directly with the safe for later opening.

— Filing cabinets. A kind of safe designed, in accordance with the name, for storing various documents, and documents with a low rate of privacy. The last is due to the fact that filing cabinets have very limited security specs: low thickness wall, fairly simple key locks, a minimum burglary resistance class (H0, see below) or no such at all. In fact, the task of such safes is not to resist professional hacking, but to restrict access for ordinary people (for example, employees of the same institution) who do not have a key.

— Safe with thermostat. A safe equipped with a thermostat — a device for maintaining a certain temperature inside. Such models are mainly used for the storage of narcotic, psychotropic, precursors and other drugs and substances that require not only access restrictions, but also special storage conditions. Many thermostatic safes are initially marketed as "medical" safes, and may have special settings to comply with regulatory requirements for the storage of drugs — for example, the "storage in a cool place" mode.

The volume of the interior space of the safe. Usually this parameter is indicated taking into account the safe-in-safe and other additional internal compartments. The amount of content that can be placed inside directly depends on the volume; on the other hand, it affects the external dimensions and weight of the storage.

The country where the safe is made as an entire product. For example, if a factory in Bulgaria takes a “box” welded in China and puts a German lock in it, then Bulgaria is indicated as the country of origin.

It is worth noting that the quality of the safe does not much depend on this parameter — generally it is worth looking rather not at the country of origin, but at the brand and price category of the product.

Now there are such safe-manufacturing countries on the market: Bulgaria, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, China, USA, Slovakia, France, South Korea.

A parameter that characterizes the degree of resistance of the safe to burglary - that is, direct damage to the door or wall in order to gain access to the contents.

Safes manufactured in different countries have different certifications for burglary resistance. So, in accordance with the Ukrainian standard DSTU EN 1143-1:2019, there are 13 classes of burglary resistance of safes. The same number of gradations are available in the ECB-S marking, which is assigned to safes by the European Security Systems Association (ESSA). The classification covers not only resistance to damage, but also the tear resistance of an anchored safe, and bracing is required to classify safes weighing less than a one ton (see below). Pull-off resistance is simply determined by the force required to remove it from the mount; this force is indicated in newtons, 10 N corresponds approximately to a force of 1 kg. To assess the resistance to damage there are so-called resistance units (Ru) - breaking time multiplied by the coefficient of resistance of the tool used. For each type of tool, the coefficients are different - for example, from 1 to 5 for a chisel, 5 for an electric drill, etc. For example, if a control sample of a safe of a certain model was cracked by a drill in 4 minutes, then its resistance to cracking is 20 Ru. Note that the check is carried out in two versions - for full and partial access to the contents of the safe; when assigning a class, both results are taken into accou...nt, they are often written as "partial/full resistance", for example 120/180.

Now there are safes on the market with the following burglary resistance classes: H0 class, Class 0, Class I, Class II< /a>, Class III. Safes with a higher burglar resistance class (Class IV, V class, Class VI, Class VII, Class VIII) are much less common.

Detailed data for each class can be found directly in the regulatory documentation. For example, here are the first three classes:

— H0 class (“below zero”). Minimum burglary resistance class to be certified. Requires a resistance of at least 15 Ru for both access options, and a pull force of at least 50 kN.
- 0 class. Safes with a resistance of at least 30/30 Ru and a pull force of 50 kN or more.
- I class. Models with a resistance of at least 50/30 Ru and a breakout force of 50 kN. The minimum class for safes classified in our catalog as burglar-resistant (see "Product Type").
There are also more burglary-resistant models on the market - up to class VIII.

The burglary resistance class is confirmed by a certificate issued by state bodies for technical regulation and standardization. The validity period of the certificate is limited, and usually it is much less than the time during which this or that model is produced. Therefore, safes are regularly re-certified. For a number of reasons, new results may differ from previous results and correspond to a different resistance class than that recorded in the outdated certificate. Therefore, over time, the class of the same model may change even if the quality of the safes themselves remains unchanged.

The rate of resistance of the safe to high temperatures. You should pay attention to this parameter when choosing a safe for storing documents or electronic media that are sensitive to high temperatures.

Fire resistance classes for safes are usually specified in accordance with the ESC-B EN 15569 and GOST R 50862-2005 standards. The first implies a division into two classes (LFS 30P and 60P), the second fundamental document has a broader class and identifies three categories of fireproof safes:
- B. At an external temperature of 1100 °C, the temperature inside the storage should not exceed 170 °C. This is enough to protect paper documents.
- D. At the same 1100 °C outside, the temperature limit inside is 70 °C. This is already enough to protect hard magnetic disks, magnetic film and film.
— DIS. The maximum temperature inside such safes at 1100 °C outside is 50 °C. This allows them to be used even for floppy disks.

Each category consists of 4 classes, denoted by the numbers 30, 60, 90 or 120, for example 60B or 120D. The figure means the time (in minutes) the temperature inside the safe will remain within the parameters specified by the category while outer temperature is 1100 °C: for example, the first corresponds to the protection of paper from fire for an hour, the second – to the protection of film for two hours.

Nowadays, the most popular fire resistance classes on the market are: 30 min, 60 min..., 90 min, 120 min.

The number and types of locks provided in the design of the safe for locking the main compartment.

— Key. Locks that can be opened/closed in the classical way with a key. The key is convenient in use that you do not have to remember the digital combination. In addition, such a lock is extremely easy to use, and also makes it easier to manage access to the safe: if necessary, the key can be given to another person, and taking it away can deprive him of access without having to reconfigure the lock. On the other hand, the key can be lost or stolen, with corresponding unpleasant consequences; and the danger of opening with a master key should not be ruled out (although in most cases it is rather difficult).

— Mechanical combination. A mechanical combination lock that can be opened with a numerical code. The code is usually entered by turning a special drum. This type compares favourably with the key one due, in fact, to the absence of a key — to open it, it is enough to know a combination of numbers. On the other hand, the combination requires reliable memory, and the code fixed “just in case” on paper or other media can be not only lost or stolen, but also read without the knowledge of the owner. In addition, the procedure for working with the lock itself is quite complicated and can cause difficulties if you are not used to it. It is also worth considering that some models of such locks...do not provide the code changing; this point should be clarified when buying.

— Electronic. A lock controlled by electronic circuits and opened with a numerical cipher. Such locks are similar to the mechanical devices described above — but instead of a wheel, they are equipped with conventional numeric keypads, which greatly simplifies the operation. Also, the use of electronics instead of mechanics provides a number of other advantages: the cipher can be easily changed, its length can be longer, the built-in display allows you to control the correctness of the input, etc. Of the significant cons of such locks, it is worth mentioning perhaps the need for power supply, but for a number of reasons this moment does not play a decisive role.

Note that some safes are equipped with locks of different types — usually key and electronic. This makes storage more versatile. Also, individual compartments may differ by type of locks (see "Number of compartments").

— Biometric (fingerprint). A kind of electronic locks, that use the user's fingerprint instead of a key. This option is extremely convenient due to the fact that the user does not need to carry a key with him (at the risk of losing it or being forced to intruder) or remember a numerical combination — he can open the lock by simply placing his finger on the sensor, while the opening of safe will not take a place with the fingerprints of an intruder. Most biometric locks are capable of storing multiple fingerprints in memory, which allows access to multiple people at once and provides additional security in case of failure.

The number of key locks (see "Types of locks") provided in the design of the safe.

Usually, there is one key lock for each separate compartment of the safe (if such a lock is used at all). In such cases, the number of locks is not indicated. However, there are quite a few safes in which the main compartment is equipped with two key locks at once. This design somewhat complicates and increases the cost of the safe, however, it provides an additional security against unauthorized opening of the safe using a master key or damaging the lock — it will be more difficult for an attacker to deal with two locks than with one. Most safes with two key locks are burglar-proof or a gun safe (see "Product Type").

The number of locking bolts provided in the design of a standard safe lock.

The locking bolt is a working element of the lock, which responds directly to the locking. It is a rod, disk, or other element (usually metal) that fits into a slot in the fixed part of the safe, blocking the opening of the door. The more such elements a safe has, the more reliable the lock and the lower the probability of opening the door by “brute force”.

This parameter in our catalog is indicated for one lock, regardless of their number in a safe. Most often, all safe locks have the same number of bolts.

Now on the market there are locks with the following number of locking bolts: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and more.

This paragraph indicates the manufacturer of the safe lock.